It's Alive!

Amber sent me these awesome pictures of our little garden and I am so excited to see growth. I had always heard about prophets encouraging us to plant a garden but I always made excuses not to. When the enrichment committee was starting up some summer clubs I enlisted for the Garden Club. Our first meeting, as you can tell by the pictures, went really well. It had inspired me to learn as much as I can. I know that with gardening there will be some failed crops but that is part of the whole gardening process. The following two pic's are from Amber. The last pic is my baby!

This is the sweet potato plant that Amber planted at our first garden club meeting. Look at it grow!

The lone Lima bean. Hopefully the others will follow!

I had just watered my tomato plant and fed it. Martha Stewart always says, "what would happen if you only drank water for 9 years? You would die! That is what happens with plants. If you only water your plant for 9 years without feeding it, it would die!" Martha was yelling at a caller who had only ever watered her plant and did not feed it. After that I purchased some food and and a cage. I feel like such a mom while caring for my plant. Is this what it feels like to be a mom? Water, feed, and cage your plant/kids?

Elvis!

Late last year we had Jess and Ty over the t-home. While the boys were playing video games, I pulled out my favorite CD eva, a compilation of Elvis' greatest hits. I was so excited cause Jess is a huge Elvis fan, if not THE biggest Elvis fan - she even got to go to Graceland!!! We immediately grabbed our microphones (hairbrush and remote control) and began singing and dancing till our hearts content. Meanwhile the boys were looking a bit weirded out but then after a while they tuned us out and away we went. I had the best time just being completely unguarded and completely myself. If you ever want me to think you are the coolest person then c'mon over to my t-home and dance and sing some Elvis tunes with me!

Side note: As I was typing this I just realized that I HAVE done this before! One night my friend Nicole Pilcher came over and we were bored so I pulled out the very same Elvis CD, some hairbrushes, and sang our hearts out. It was one of the funnest times I've had with Nicole! Elvis still has that magic of bringing people together :)





Jon's face went pale with a bemused expression after seeing the following picture:





Thanks Jessica for coming over and dancing the night away with me!

1st Garden Club Meeting

Our first garden club meeting was a success! Although the rain would not stop, our little garden club went without a glitch. Jon was kind enough to babysit the ever wonderful Knight kids at Natalie's house and he got a chance to hang 10 with Phillip and Max. I tried stuffing his pockets with gummy words but he didn't want the kids learning about bribery at such a young age. I wonder what that says about me? Back to the garden club! Amber and Starleigh each had their own presentations and it was perfect. Jon built 2 gardening boxes and I raffled one away. Congrats Lynsey! I worked on a handout which Amber wrote up so well and we handed out a few prizes. I had a ton of fun preparing for our first meeting including getting my hands all sticky with the desserts Amber helped make. Thank you Amber for letting us use your lovely home!

Check out the awesome pictures:

Thank you Jon for being an awesome husband and making these delightful boxes!

Amber Edwards looking as beautiful as ever, can you believe she birthed 3 kids!

Me, just me

Starleigh gave a presentation about being a Florida Gardener

Lynsey won the gardening table and Amber showed the class how to plant tomatoes, peas, and basil. She also spoke about Sweet potatoes which is the weird looking thing on the edge of the table. Sprouted potatoes give me the creeps.

My camera sees you Amelia!

Lynsey transplanting the tomato that Amber gave the class

Natalie, Michelle, and the lovely Grace (I am so envious of her long legs!)

Me, just me

I accidentally froze one of the lovely daisies

Me and Lynsey

The three musketeers!

Garden Club Here I Come!

Tomorrow night is the inaugural Gainesville 3rd Ward Garden Club. I am SO over the moon about it. Here is a sneak peak at what I plan on making for dessert:

My Favorite T-Shirt

About 10 years ago I accidentally stole a t-shirt that belonged to a friend of mine. I have decided to confess my petty crime today 'cause I can no longer live with the guilt I have been carrying around for 10 years. So, this is the story of how I came into possession of the most comfortable and coolest t-shirt ever, while making amends - I hope - to the true owner of said shirt whose name will soon be revealed. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, about 10 years ago I was hanging out with a group of friends when one of my friends suggested I spend the night at their awesome farm house so the fun can continue. I called up my parents to get permission and away we went! Since I had no Pajamas, my friend let me borrow the now infamous shirt. She had just received the t-shirt as memorabilia for having attended seminary. I carefully put it on while inhaling its brand-new-shirt scent. I felt so special that she had let me use her new t-shirt, so when I went to bed I tried not to get drool on it (that's right folks, I'm a drooler). The next day arrived and I still didn't have anything to wear, so my friend let me go home with her t-shirt. I told her I would wash it as soon as I got home and then return it to her the next time I saw her. Well, this is the tricky part. Between boys, surviving high school, fights with my mom, young women callings, and waking up at the crack of dawn for my own seminary classes, I forgot to give my friend Sarah Smith her shirt back. So over the years it sat in a little brown bag labeled "Thanks for letting me borrow your shirt Sarah. Your a cool friend. Thanks for being my friend." That is, until one day my mom found the brown paper bag, washed the t-shirt, and hung it in my closet. When I first saw it hanging it my closet I screamed! How can I have forgotten to give Sarah her shirt back?! What would she think of me? The next day I was riding in a car with Sarah's sister Jenny and I causually asked her if Sarah was missing anything valuable. She looked at me with a puzzled look and replied "No." I then told Jenny I had a t-shirt that Sarah let me borrow and that I will be returning it soon. Jenny told me that it was totally cool and since it has been so long it has probably left Sarah's mind. SO I KEPT THE SHIRT!! (and wore it proudly) So Sarah, on this 10th Anniversary of the day you let me borrow your t-shirt, I apologize (and secretly hope that you wont ask for it back!)

We've been busy

Last weekend was a lot of fun for us. First, we got free tickets to see the PK Young High school production of "Ragtime". Maren Jansen was in the play and it was so much fun to see her perform as well as Bit Johanson and Catherine Castillo. The material was tough to watch as it was very depressing in some parts but we enjoyed seeing the hard work the students put in. The very next day we went to see the movie 'Star Trek' (per Jon's request). It was SUCH a guy movie and I think I would have preferred to see 'Wolverine' which is on my TO-DO list.











After the movie we went to the hospital to visit Christian DaCosta and his parents, Walmir and Irene. I was so excited when I walked in the room and saw Walmir carrying his adorable baby boy. His hair was awesome! It reminded me of when I was born and needed a haircut A.S.A.P.

Later that night we went to the Richards home for their son's open house. He recently got married and Linda hired me and Jon as event coordinators for the night. We had a blast!!

Then Saturday rolled around and we chilled until about 4:00pm when I hopped into a sweet Mercedes Benz SUV and got a ride up to Jacksonville where I got to hear Sister Beck (the Relief Society General President) and Sister Cook (1st counselor in the YW program) speak to a very crowed group of women. It was an amazing experience and I felt very fortunate to be there. One of my favorite words were said by Sister Beck "This life is not a dream but a life of experiences so that one day we can return to live with our Heavenly Father." That really hit home. I think I expect everything to be a "dream" that I miss out on enjoying lots of little things.

Sister Beck

Sister Cook

While Jon Was Away

I decided to hang a book shelve on this wall. Except I've never ever done such a thing hence the 8 holes I drilled on the wall which have been stuffed with Spackle as of 7:00pm today. It took me 2 days and 3 trips to Lowe's to finally achieve this:

Here's an angle shot

In an unrelated topic, Jon baked a delicious bread from scratch last week. It was delicious!

Here's an angle shot

The following pictures are not meant to harm a certain husband but instead remind him the state his room is in.




This was all over the floor of his room. I hate stepping on papers and books so while he was gone I picked up everything and put it on a folding table. I received multiple paper cuts-just for the record.

Before & After

Here are some pic's of my handy work. I had a lot of fun working with my hands. I think I might engage in a few more projects. It really does feel great to work hard and see the fruits of your labor.


I took my old shoe holder and added some contact paper so that I can use it in my craft closet.




I added a fresh coat of paint to my bathroom cabinets. Jon does not like it but I don't care. I think it looks so much better than the old beat up cabinets.